Babar Azam on verge of breaking Rohit Sharma’s T20I record

Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam is on the verge of becoming the all-time leading run-scorer in men’s T20 internationals as he prepares for his return in the upcoming three-match home series against South Africa.

The 31-year-old is just nine runs behind India’s Rohit Sharma, who currently tops the list with 4,231 runs in 159 matches. Babar has scored 4,223 runs in 128 matches at an average of 39.83.

Most runs in men’s T20Is

• Rohit Sharma – 4,231 runs in 159 matches

• Babar Azam – 4,223 runs in 128 matches

• Virat Kohli – 4,188 runs in 125 matches

• Jos Buttler – 3,869 runs in 144 matches

The upcoming series will also mark Babar’s return to the national T20I side after nearly a year. The former captain last featured in the shortest format during Pakistan’s away series against South Africa in December 2024.

Since then, the selectors opted to rest him as part of a strategy to groom younger players ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup next year. Consequently, Babar was left out of the squad for the recently concluded ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025, where Pakistan failed to advance to the final.

Following the team’s underwhelming performance in the continental tournament, the right-handed batter has been recalled for the home assignment against South Africa — the T20 World Cup 2024 runners-up.

Pakistan squad for South Africa T20Is:
Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), and Usman Tariq.

The three-match T20I series will provide Babar an opportunity to reclaim his position as one of the most consistent performers in the format and surpass Rohit Sharma to become the highest run-scorer in T20I history.